The Red Deer Cave People were the most recent known prehistoric population that do not resemble modern humans. Fossils dated between 14,500 and 11,500 years old were found in Red Deer Cave and Longlin Cave in China. Having a mix of archaic and modern features, they are tentatively thought to be a separate species of humans that became extinct without contributing to the gene pool of modern humans.[1] Evidence shows large deer were cooked in the Red Deer Cave, giving the people their name.[2]

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In 1979, the partial skull of a cave dweller was found in Longlin Cave in the Guangxi Zhuang region of China. Further human remains were excavated from Maludong (Red Deer Cave) in Yunnan Province.[3] Fossils of the Red Deer Cave dwellers were radiocarbon dated between 14,500 and 11,500 years of age, using charcoal found in the fossil deposits. During the period in which the Red Deer Cave people lived, all other prehistoric human species, such as Neanderthals, were thought to have died out. The Red Deer Cave humans would therefore be more recent than Homo floresiensis (dubbed "Hobbits") dated to 13,000 years ago.[4]

In spite of their relatively recent age, the fossils exhibit features of more primitive humans. The Red Deer Cave dwellers had the following distinctive features that differ from modern humans: flat face, broad nose, jutting jaw with no chin, large molars, prominent brows, thick skull bones, and moderate-size brain.[4]

Although the physical features of the Red Deer Cave people suggest that they may be a previously undiscovered species of prehistoric human, the scientists who discovered them are reluctant to classify them as a new species.[4]Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London has suggested that they could be a result of mating between Denisovans and modern humans.[2] Other scientists remain skeptical, suggesting that the unique features are within the variations expected for human populations.[4]

Attempts to extract DNA have been so far unsuccessful, but are continuing. Only once this is done will it be possible to determine the relationship between this group and other modern humans.[4]